Ex-con fights for bill to help the wrongly convicted

For this bill, ex-con will be key lobbyistMeasure aims to increase compensation for the wrongly convicted

DAVID ELLISON, Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Photo: Ben DeSoto, Chronicle

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Josiah Sutton, left, congratulates Anthony Robinson after the Thurgood Marshall School of Law graduation ceremony. Both Sutton and Robinson were convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Josiah Sutton, left, congratulates Anthony Robinson after the Thurgood Marshall School of Law graduation ceremony. Both Sutton and Robinson were convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Photo: Ben DeSoto, Chronicle

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Anthony Robinson, left, earned a law degree after being released from prison for a rape he didn't commit. Sen. Rodney Ellis, right, plans to file a bill that would double compensation to $50,000 per year for ex-prisoners who were found to be innocent. less

Anthony Robinson, left, earned a law degree after being released from prison for a rape he didn't commit. Sen. Rodney Ellis, right, plans to file a bill that would double compensation to $50,000 per year for ... more

Photo: Craig Hartley, For The Chronicle

Ex-con fights for bill to help the wrongly convicted

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Five years ago, Anthony Robinson's testimony helped persuade the Texas Legislature to begin compensating men and women sent to prison for crimes they didn't commit.

Since then, Robinson, who spent a decade in prison after being wrongfully convicted of rape, has received nearly a quarter of a million dollars from the state. He's earned a law degree from Texas Southern University and begun an advanced law program in China.

And when the Legislature convenes again in January, he will be back in Austin to lobby lawmakers to expand the amount of money it provides for people who find themselves in the same unenviable position.

"I mean it's just sad that people don't realize that even if you gave them a million dollars a year, the injury goes beyond what the compensation can possibly give to make up for it," said Robinson, 45.

After being paroled in 1996, Robinson worked and saved up enough money to pay for a DNA test that exonerated him. His story was so compelling that state Sen. Rodney Ellis sought Robinson's testimony in favor of a bill to pay exonerated people $25,000 for each year they were incarcerated. He later called it key to getting the 2001 bill passed.

The Texas law has a $500,000 cap, but Ellis' proposed bill would eliminate the cap and increase the payments — to $50,000 a year for a noncapital crime and $100,000 for capital case — to match the law for people exonerated from federal courts.

"Robinson is just a poster child for why we need to have Texas mirror the federal standard," Ellis said.

Ellis said he introduced the bill in 2005, but it failed to get enough votes to come up on the Senate floor.

This time around, Ellis is banking on Robinson's continued success to help get the bill passed.

Robinson was sentenced to 27 years in prison for a 1986 sexual assault at the University of Houston. He served 10 years before he was released on parole.

After the DNA test exonerated him, he received a pardon in November 2000.

Robinson, who already had a college degree before his arrest, found a lot of support after his release. Ellis, for instance, hosted fund-raisers to help pay for law school, and Robinson graduated from TSU's Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 2004.

'A life back in order'

Unlike Robinson, Ellis said, most ex-prisoners are unable to get their lives together after serving time for a crime they didn't commit.

The existing law provides $5,000 in counseling services, Ellis said, but a person would have to pay for the services and then get reimbursed by the state.

Ellis said his bill would provide services such as assistance in developing work-force skills, securing affordable housing as well as medical, dental and psychological care.

"I think the state has a responsibility to do as much as possible to put a life back in order when a mistake has been made," Ellis said. " ... I mean we put the burden on the individuals as if they made the mistake instead of the government."

"I don't know why more money would not be in order," said Seliger. "How many would volunteer to be locked up away from our families for $25,000 or even $50,000 a year? Not many of us."

Seliger voiced skepticism about providing additional services, however, saying that would depend on what they would cost.

Another Houston case

Josiah Sutton
, a Houston man who served 4 1/2 years in prison for rape before DNA evidence exonerated him, said he hasn't received any counseling since his release in 2003 and he is having a hard time finding employment because the state hasn't formally taken the criminal conviction off his record.

"It's pretty hard when you're bouncing back from a criminal conviction — period," said Sutton, who was pardoned in May 2004.

"A lot of people don't want to hire a convicted felon."

Sutton, 24, has received $118,749 in compensation, according to the state Comptroller's Office. He said he faced an even tougher challenge because he was still in high school at the time he was sent to prison.

He credited Robinson's maturity for the positive choices he made after his release.

The proposed bill would not benefit Sutton, Robinson and others who have already received state compensation.

Robinson, however, said he's involved in the movement for the "next Josiah."